CALIFORNIAN: Inland Valley Symphony doubles up in February

The Inland Valley Symphony will not only double the chances of
seeing one of its classical music performances this month with two
shows, but has invited two talented soloists to join it.

The 55-member Inland Valley symphony, led by Maestro Anthony
Parnther, has been a community fixture for almost two decades, now
entering its 17th year. To kick off the 2012 season, the symphony
will be presenting two concerts in February.

The piece, based on Shakespeare's romantic tragedy of the same
name, is an "overture-fantasy" that combines three individual
strands to musically narrate the classic story of two warring
families, young love, and ultimate tragedy.

In addition to the Overture, played by the full orchestra, this
Saturday's concert will include appearances by two special
guests.

Oboe soloist Meg Cassell, a graduate of Yale University Schoolof Music, has played oboe professionally since 1980. She has notonly performed with several ensembles in the Los Angeles and SanDiego areas, she held the position of principal oboe with the HoferSymphoniker in Germany for 12 years.

For Saturday's concert, Cassell will present Concerto for Oboe
by Strauss.

In addition, the show will include a performance by pianist Ryan
MacEvoy McCullough, an Inland Valley Symphony regular guest, who
will present Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1.

McCullough looks forward to every appearance with the
symphony.

"It's been nice for me because I've gotten to play some great
repertoire with them, and they seem to have a great responsive
audience," McCullough said during a recent interview. "They're a
really wonderful group to perform with."

A student in Toronto, McCullough will be sticking around the
Inland Empire for an additional week as the Inland Valley Symphony
presents a very special recital with him on Feb. 26. He will be
joined by special guest Parnther on bassoon.

For the recital, McCullough chose a body of work that was
particularly dear to his heart: Beethoven's final three
sonatas.

"This is a program I've been wanting to play for a really long
time," McCullough said. "They are probably the greatest piano works
ever written. I felt like I had to do this program at some point,
because I felt it was something that would stick with me for the
rest of my life. So this is technically my first attempt at doing
this program."

The last of his piano compositions, the sonatas were written by
Beethoven from the summer of 1821 to the spring of 1822 without
stopping ---- a fact that particularly fascinates McCullough.

"It's really hard to describe exactly what it is about them
that's so overwhelming, but it really is just a perfect balance of
so many musical qualities," he said. "He wrote them all in sort of
one fast streak, so it's almost like one giant piece, the three of
them. You have to listen to them to understand why they're so
wonderful."

After experiencing his recital, McCullough hopes the audience
will take away the same thoughts and emotions he feels Beethoven
was trying to convey.

"When Beethoven was writing these sonatas, he was really into
Asian philosophy and this sense of all things in the universe sort
of being connected together somehow, and I think he really
attempted to portray that with these three pieces," McCullough
said.

"When they are played well, you feel like you are part of
something very large and all-encompassing, and that's what I'm
trying to do. If I'm successful, I think people will feel like
they're all part of something bigger."